1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to hand trucks of the type having an upright truck frame supported on a pair of wheels and a load carrying plate projecting forwardly from the frame. Tilting of the truck frame lifts a load on the plate away from the ground surface allowing the hand truck to be rolled on its wheels for transporting the load.
2. State of the Prior Art
Conventional hand trucks typically have an upright frame of welded tubing, a flat load plate projecting forwardly from the frame and a pair of wheels mounted at the bottom of the frame on either side and just behind the plate. One common truck frame arrangement has a continuous tube bent into an inverted U-shape. The closed end of the U defines a handle at the top of the frame. The U-shaped tube has two parallel side arms which extend downwardly and have bottom ends fixed to the load plate. The parallel arms are interconnected by one or more cross-members for rigidity and strength.
In an upright standing position of the hand truck the load plate rests on an underlying ground surface and the truck frame stands erect in a generally vertical position. The parallel side arms of the frame define a vertical plane of the frame and the load plate is usually horizontal on the ground surface and perpendicular to that vertical plane. In typical use, a load is placed on the load plate while the plate is resting flat on the ground surface. The upper end of the truck frame is then pulled back so as to tilt the frame and shift the truck load onto the wheels while lifting the load plate and the load away from the ground surface. The hand truck can then be wheeled either forwards or backwards to move the load to a desired location.
Conventional hand trucks of this type are not well suited for transporting wide loads which extend substantially from each side of the truck frame when laid across the load plate. This difficulty stems from the fact that the wide load lies transversely to the direction of travel of the truck wheels. Examples of such wide loads are 4 foot by 8 foot sheets of plywood or drywall, large plates of glass, and long pipes or tubing. Such wide loads cannot be wheeled through standard sized doorways and hallways, and may be too awkward to maneuver through cluttered or crowded work areas.
A continuing need exists for an improved hand truck which retains the advantages of simplicity and low cost of conventional hand trucks yet addresses the aforementioned shortcomings.